Versus Tells the Legend of Icecalibur

10/06/2006 10:10 AM Eastern

By: By Mike Reynolds

In a nod to the sword-and-the-stone legend, Versus -- Comcast’s competition network formerly known as OLN -- will present the Legend of Icecalibur outside of New York’s Madison Square Garden, the home of the National Hockey League’s New York Rangers.

Just as Arthur pulled Excalibur from the stone to prove he was the rightful King of England, Versus, the NHL’s national cable carrier, will give fans a chance to play to their competitive genes and extract 10 autographed hockey sticks from a six-foot-by-six-foot-by-six-foot block of ice Oct. 10 from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. at the Seventh Avenue entrance near MSG’s marquee

The royal reward: game tickets to that night’s contest between the Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers; All-Star game seats; Stanley Cup ducats; and a grand prize of $10,000 in cash.

All told, Versus will air 54 regular-season NHL games during the 2006-07 season.

“We want to challenge fans in an interesting, fun and relevant way to hockey that not only highlights the depth of our programming package -- from the regular season to the All-Star Game to the playoffs -- but taps into the strong sense of tradition among NHL fans,” Versus senior vice president of marketing and promotion Bill Bergofin said.

The Icecalibur promotion followed the Versus Puck Drop gambit Oct. 4, when the network worked with local radio stations in Dallas; Denver; Raleigh, N.C.; and Buffalo, N.Y., where fans were given the chance to remove pucks from smaller blocks of ice to win tickets to the two games (Colorado Avalanche/Dallas Stars and Carolina Hurricanes/Buffalo Sabres) the network covered on the opening night of the NHL season, as well as other packages.